


Wait and See

by sunshineflying



Series: tshaw and evie [9]
Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 19:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4973314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineflying/pseuds/sunshineflying
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>part of the tshaw & evie verse.</p><p>Nick and Louis are preparing for the birth of their twins, and along with it they're watching their friends sort out their relationships and families -- especially Niall, who's struggling with his a bit. Along with helping Niall and getting used to the parenting style it takes to raise their whole littler of children, Louis and Nick take a step back and watch their children grow up and start to follow their passions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wait and See

**Author's Note:**

> So sorry for the wait -- I appreciate your understanding, though! It's a very crazy semester in school (as well as my last) so I've got a lot on my plate.
> 
> I hope you find that this was worth the wait!
> 
> Thank you to Jen, Laura, and Kara, who are endlessly helpful. This series wouldn't still be going, or half as good as it is, if it wasn't for their help. You guys are the greatest. xx

Louis can’t say he’s surprised when he gets the call that their surrogate has gone into labor. Twins are usually always early, or at least his siblings were, so it makes sense. Ever since they hit the 32 week mark, he’s been ready.

Nick – well, he’s been saying he’s ready, but he’s clearly nervous. Louis can’t really blame him.

Teaching Nick how to care for Ollie had been a slow process, but a good one. Nick was so receptive to Louis, from learning how to handle an infant, to remembering what Ollie could and could not do yet, like supporting his own head. Louis had been able to help him, because he’d had free hands. But with twins they won’t really be able to do that. Louis is sure Nick remembers everything but Nick always doubts himself. For as great as he is at being a father, he worries an awful lot that he’s not.

So when Louis gets a call on his way home from work that their surrogate Lucy is in labor, that she’s only at 33 weeks but the babies will be okay, he’s extremely excited. Louis, grinning widely with his eyes crinkled at the corners, bounds through the door as soon as he gets home and says, “Alright everyone, it’s time!”

Evie cheers as she rushes into the room, and Ollie toddles in on his wobbly legs. He’s already getting very tall – he’s taller than all the other kids his age – and reaches up for Louis. “Yes, it’s time to go meet our baby brothers,” Louis says.

The surrogate had told them that they were having twin boys before they’d ever discussed whether they wanted to know the gender. They didn’t mind though, not really, because choosing names for two babies rather than one is no easy feat. It didn’t come as naturally as it had last time, what with so many more friends and family stealing the best names for their own babies.

Louis’ sister Fizzy is in town now, studying something artistic and cool at uni, and she’s promised to be available to watch the kids while Nick and Louis go to hospital for the twins. He called her up on the way and Louis, Nick and the kids go to the nursery to pack a bag for the babies.

“Oh god these clothes are so _small_ ,” Nick says, holding up the onesies they’d bought special for the babies, the size _premature_ from the only store they found that carried them.

“They’ll be alright though,” Louis promises. “If you ever worry just look at my family. Four of those kids were preemies but you could never tell.” He’s said it a million times, but he’ll say it a million more just to relax Nick.

He kisses his cheek and Evie carries over her own pink baby blanket. It’s got holes in it now, and the softness is gone, but she’s had it for seven years now and she’ll likely want to keep it for the rest of her life. “Here Papa, for the babies,” she says, offering it to Nick as he puts the baby onesies in the bag. They’ve packed spares, just in case there’s spit up, and they’re quickly running out of room in a bag that has worked plenty fine for them in the past.

Two babies take up a lot of space.

Nick kneels down in front of Evie where she’s so earnestly offering what is arguably her most prized possession. “Oh, Evie, love, that’s so sweet of you,” he says.

“I don’t care if they’re boys, my blankie is nice and they need lots of cuddles from me before I see them so they can use this,” she explains.

There’s a risk, Nick knows, in taking the blanket. She could change her mind after they’ve left and want it back. She could raise hell for Fizzy until she gets it back, too. But she’s got a warm, loving heart, and she’s matured so much since she was a baby, and he has faith that she knows what she’s doing. “Thank you so much, poppet,” he says, pulling her into a hug. “They’re going to love it.”

“Make sure you tell them right away that I love them the most,” Evie says.

And _god_ , she’s matured, Nick thinks. When they’d first told her that they were going to hospital without her, to be there when the babies are born, she’d cried for hours. She wanted to see them right away, like with Ollie. But then they explained that two babies means they need a lot of extra hands, and that they’d be bored whilst waiting anyway, so it’s better to just come with Fizzy once the babies have arrived.

She agreed, in the end, but only because Ollie had to wait, too.

Louis has packed everything else, apparently, because he taps Nick on the shoulder and says, “Let’s go meet our boys.”

Evie hugs Nick again and Ollie runs up to hug him, too. “Get in here, Daddy,” Nick says, one arm flailing to try to find Louis.

And right there on the floor of the nursery, the four share one big, loving group hug – their last as a family of four.

Fizzy arrives a minute later and Nick and Louis let her in on their way out. “We’ll be fine,” she promises.

Evie’s already holding Fizzy’s hand and trying to lead her to her room where she’s got new dolls to play with – a pretty Barbie _and_ a cool soldier – and Ollie is content to just snuggle up to her. Auntie Fizzy is his favourite, because she’ll colour pictures with him all day.

“Good luck,” she says, hugging Nick and then Louis, before nearly shoving them out the door.

Louis drives this time, and it’s a big change from when Ollie had arrived because now Louis is the calm one and Nick’s panicking a little. It’s midday, so they’re able to find a spot in the car park without any trouble, and then they walk upstairs to the maternity floor in search of their surrogate’s room.

When they arrive, she’s pushing, and they wait anxiously in the waiting area. It’s tedious, sitting there and hearing faint voices outside but not seeing anything, not getting any new information. Louis’s small hand is enveloped warmly in Nick’s larger, and Louis puts his head on Nick’s shoulder and bounces his knee as he waits. Nick picks at the frayed knee of his jeans and just wants to meet his babies. He feels sick with anticipation.

Then finally, _finally_ , a nurse arrives.

“Congratulations,” she smiles. “They’re all doing great.”

Nick and Louis smile at each other, only Nick raises an eyebrow when he realizes: “All?”

“Yes,” the nurse nods. “Triplets.”

Nick’s grip on Louis’s hand tightens and Louis’s eyes bulge. “But – twins. We were told twins,” Nick stammers, grappling with this new information.

“There was a little girl in there, hiding behind her brothers,” the nurse smiles, hoping her lightheartedness will rub off on Nick and Louis, that it’ll cheer them up. “She’s an awfully tiny little thing but she’s got lungs strongest out of all of them. A fighter, that one is. And mischief, too. We could hardly get her nappy on her!”

Nick and Louis follow the nurse down the hall to a private room not unlike the one where they’d first taken Ollie. And there, in the center of the room, are three little baby cots. They’re the same as Ollie’s, except there’s little oxygen tanks on each and little tubes in their nostrils. “Their lungs are just a bit weak,” the nurse explains. “They’re perfectly healthy, except those lungs need just a bit more time to grow before they can do the job on their own.”

Louis nods. He knows. Nick knows too, because Louis had explained it repeatedly to make sure Nick wouldn’t panic too much. There are three babies there, lying on the cots in front of them, and the nurse was absolutely right. The boys are bigger, but they’re quieter and stiller. They’re half asleep and kicking their tiny legs lazily. The little girl on the end is kicking and crying and her nappy barely fits her, she’s so small. “I know she doesn’t look it, but she’s just as healthy as the boys,” the nurse says. “She just got tucked away nice and small in your surrogate’s belly.”

Nick nods and so does Louis, and they stare as the nurse leaves. “I don’t know where to start,” Nick confesses softly.

Louis walks to the little girl’s cot and reaches out for her, gently lifting her into his arms. “Oh, hello darling. Little poppet. You’re our little troublemaker, aren’t you?” he asks fondly, smiling down at her.

She’s fussing, and Nick follows his instinct. He fixes a bottle for her and brings it to Louis so he can feed her, help calm her. “We should name her Poppy,” Nick offers softly, looking over Louis’s shoulder at her. He’s grateful that in that moment, the boys are quiet.

“What?” Louis asks, confused. He hadn’t been expecting to talk names right away. Then again, they weren’t expecting a girl.

“It’s just – you called her Poppet and I thought Poppy, and I think it fits her,” he explains. “Poppy Eileen, maybe?”

Louis looks down and studies their daughter for a moment, but then nods. “Yeah, you’re right,” he whispers. “It fits her.”

And for just a second, it feels like triplets won’t be as overwhelming as Nick thinks. But then one of the boys starts crying, waking the second one, and he starts crying, too. “Oh god,” Nick mumbles. “I don’t – who do I -- ?” he looks down at the babies and doesn’t know which to hold first.

That’s when they know they’re in over their heads.

A nurse comes in to help them, feeds one whilst Nick feeds the other, and they decide that the baby with the dark hair will be named Toby, whilst the bald one will be named Alfie. Tobias Peter and Alfred Ernest. Nick likes the ring to it, likes the feeling that they’re one big family now – one that feels a lot more completely – he’s just not sure how to handle the daunting task in the near future of taking three newborns home with only two parents to care for them.

The babies are in hospital for a few weeks until their lungs are better developed, and they’re visited by everyone they could imagine. All of Louis’s siblings come by, and Nick’s as well, and of course their parents. Everyone’s as shocked as they were that there are three, not two, but Louis’s mum finds the most amusement in it. “Sounds like she’s going to be trouble,” she says when she hears the story. She’s holding Poppy, who can’t lay still, and says, “I suppose it starts at birth, doesn’t it? Just like with your daddy.”

“Before birth, in this case,” Nick’s mum Eileen chimes, holding little Alfie in her arms.

They seem amused that Nick and Louis are in over their heads. Everyone does, except Nick and Louis themselves. Nick’s constantly terrified now, about how on earth they’re going to take care of five children, three of which are newborns. He can barely keep his sanity when Ollie and Evie come to visit them in hospital and they’re in a room with their mums around to help.

Ollie is asleep on Dan’s shoulder when the kids arrive, so Evie gets the babies to herself first. She says hello to Alfie and Toby, but then announces, “No ‘fence to you guys but I want to see my sister! I did not know I was going to have a sister so I’m happier to see her. Where’s Poppy?”

Nick snorts with laughter.

Louis is holding Poppy, has her wrapped up warm in Evie’s baby blanket, and Evie holds out a little gift bag. “Me and Auntie Lottie getted this for Poppy. We only had stuff for the boys before.”

Louis props Poppy up in his arms so she can see, even though she’s not paying attention, and says, “Can you help her open it? She’s too small to do it herself.”

Evie nods and pulls out the tissue paper. Then she pulls out a blanket that looks just like hers, fleece and pink and covered in little ponies. “This one is for you, so we can match, Poppy,” she says, her voice going high-pitched like it does when she talks to babies and animals. “We can be matching sisters!”

She’s clearly very excited to have a baby sister, and Louis has Evie help him switch Poppy to her new blanket, swaddling her in it. “Now you can have yours back, love,” he says, handing off her ratty baby blanket.

Evie smiles as she snuggles it, and then exclaims, “It smells like baby!”

She sits down next to Louis and peeks over his arm at Poppy, who’s watching her curiously with big, round blue eyes. The same as Louis’s and Evie’s and Ollie’s. “Hi Poppy,” she says, reaching out to tickle her cheek. Poppy just flails her little arm. “It’s going to be very nice to have a sister,” Evie continues. “Ollie is lovely but girls are better. Girls are tough and can like pretty things.” Louis smiles fondly and Nick notices them then, let's Lottie hold Alfie so he can go talk to Evie, too. She continues telling Poppy, “And don’t listen if anyone tells you that you have to like pink, or that you can’t use boy toys. Girls can do anything!” She looks up at Louis and then at Nick before she says, “Thank you for giving me a sister after all. I like boys but girls are way better.”

Louis smiles and leans down to give her a kiss on the head. “We’re glad you’re happy, love.”

Evie stands up and fixes her hair before she leans in and kisses Poppy on the head. “You’re my favourite sister ever,” she says with a smile.

Poppy grabs a fistful of Evie’s hair and doesn’t let go, drawing screams out of Evie. Those screams then make all three babies cry and wake up Ollie, startling him into tears. Nick’s not so sure he’s prepared for this happening without the help of Louis’s whole family to calm them down.

More people visit and Nick calls LA to tell Harry, who doesn’t sound as excited as he’d hoped he would. He’s not sure what that’s about. He’d even invited Harry to visit, but Harry had only said that he was really busy right now, recording a new album, but he’d do his best to get out there to visit.

Nick tried not to be too disappointed, but it was hard.

But then it’s time to take the babies home and they’re full of worry with no space in their heads for anything else. Liam’s already set up a third cot in the nursery – he had to rearrange, but he managed – and Sophia says they don’t need to worry about clothes because they’ve got plenty, but she’s put more nappies in the nursery just in case. Everything is all set for three babies, and it’s time.

They’re terrified.

Niall offered to help move them in, though, and he meets them at their house when they get home. The babies are all crying, though Nick and Louis don’t know why because they just had a bottle and a nappy change before they left for home. Niall hears them before Nick and Louis are even out of the car, and they’ve got to wrestle three baby seats out of the back. “This would only happen to you two,” Niall laughs, taking Alfie’s carrier as Louis hands it off so he can get another one.

He passes Poppy off to Nick and then gets Toby’s carrier, and they walk into the house with no noise around them except the unhappy cries of their babies.

Pig is startled when she sees them, and she growls a little before Nick tells her to hush. She’s old now, not nearly as energetic nor much of a threat, and she runs back to her bed to take another nap. He’s grateful that Evie and Ollie are with Louis’s mum for a few days whilst the babies get acclimated.

Eventually, Evie and Ollie come home, but Niall never leaves. He’s there for Nick and Louis to talk to, but also helps them more than anyone else has. He’s happy to get up in the middle of the night to help with them, and he’s just as tired as them, too.

Nick and Louis don’t realize it, though. They’re too exhausted, too stressed and to worried about how to juggle everything to really realize they’ve managed largely in part because of Niall.

It’s not until the babies have been home for a full two weeks that they are able to relax a bit. After days on end of hard work, trying to get the triplets all on the same sleep schedule, they’ve finally managed, and the three of them are sitting around in the darkened lounge, babies sleeping on their chests. Evie and Ollie were out like a light several hours prior.

Louis and Nick are sat on the sofa, the boys sleeping on their chests, and they’re drowsily watching Niall hum softly to Poppy, putting her to sleep. He looks so enamored, so happy to be holding a baby, and Louis sees it on his face.

“When are you going to settle down and have babies of your own then, Nialler?” Louis whispers through the dark.

It’s startling, how quickly Niall’s face falls at that question. He barely makes a movement but he shrugs in response, and Nick frowns. “Y’alright? If anyone’s broken your heart I’ll set someone on them,” he offers. “Couldn’t hurt them myself but I could find someone else to do it.”

Niall looks up at Nick and forces a smile before he looks back down at Poppy. He rubs her back gently and says, “I dunno if that’s really my thing.”

Louis is studying Niall closely, watching the way he’s avoiding their eyes and seems lost in his head all of a sudden. “You’re great with kids,” Nick offers. Louis closes his eyes because he doesn’t know if that will actually help Niall at all.

“I mean… I want a kid,” Niall sighs. “I just… the rest of it? I dunno.”

Nick and Louis are quiet as they watch Niall struggle with it, try to make sense of his thoughts. The whole room is so still, the only sound in the room their breathing. Each of them is holding one of the triplets, snuggling them close under their baby blankets, and everything seems slower than it’s felt in a while. “You don’t have to be married to have kids,” Nick offers. “Like if you’re not into that, it’s alright. I think it's called asexual? It’ll be harder to get the process approved than if you’re with someone, but you could do it. You’re Niall bloody Horan.”

Niall looks up, his eyes glistening in the moonlight streaming in from the patio door, and he looks so conflicted. His mind’s caught on one thing in particular, but he looks too scared to ask. After a few seconds, he takes a deep breath and summons the courage to face it. “I can do that?” he asks. “D’you mean like, be alone forever? It’s not that I hate people or anything, I really don’t, I just -- I don’t want -- I can’t see myself… I don’t really want that, you know? Like, I don’t feel that way for people. I don’t need to get married. Don’t really even want to date.” He’s rambling now, clearly nervous, and says, “Sorry, that’s like… a lot, or whatever, I just…” he shakes his head and sighs. His shoulders slump. “It’s not just the sex… it’s okay, but I’d really… I’d rather not.”

They’re quiet again. Nick isn’t totally familiar with everything, but he’s read up enough to know how Niall’s feeling, what it might mean for him in terms of sorting out his future. “You don’t have to like sex with other people. You don’t have to want it. Or romance. Like… that’s all valid, Niall,” Nick explains gently.

Louis is watching the exchange between Niall and Nick and he says gently, “If anyone could be a fucking amazing single dad, it’s you, mate.”

Niall looks across at Louis, and there’s emotion bubbling in his eyes, tears in the corners. “I’m supposed to do it _right_ ,” he mutters. “It’s what me brother did, and what me parents want, and… I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

“Don’t get married if it’ll make you unhappy, Niall,” Louis says, his voice firmer now. “I don’t care what anyone else says.”

“Yeah. Fuck whoever says marriage and babies is the only _normal_ way to live,” Nick says fiercely. “Honestly, if you’re not into the idea of romance it’s okay. It’s a thing.”

Niall drags his gaze to Nick and asks, “Y-yeah?”

Nick nods. “Sure. Aromantic, I think it's called? It’s a thing. You just… you don’t want romantic relationships. You’re happy with platonic.” Niall’s nodding along, like he gets it. Like something’s clicked in his brain.

“That still doesn’t explain why I don’t like sex with other people,” he mutters though, like he’s frustrated that it’s only half worked out.

“Romantic attraction and sexual preferences are totally different,” Louis offers. “And… it’s okay. Nobody has to like sex. Some of us love it and others can do without it. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Feels like it,” Niall frowns.

Nick looks sadly at Niall, sees the way Niall’s gazing back down at Poppy, his teeth gripping his lower lip tightly to keep it from trembling. “I feel defective,” he confesses.

The room is quiet, the air heavy. Louis’s heart is aching at the thought of his friend feeling in such a way. It’s not fair, because he’s so sweet and kind to everyone. Louis wants to fix it, and fast.

“Oh, Niall,” he says softly. “You’re not defective. Nobody’s bloody defective for feeling the way you do.”

Niall sniffles and Nick’s heart aches for him. “I think you’re going to feel totally fulfilled once you’re a dad, and that you don’t need the rest,” Nick offers kindly. “You’ve gotten your dream career, working in music, and it’s clear you’re ready for a baby now. And I think if you trust yourself to do it alone, and believe that it’s what’s best for you, then you’re going to come out happier in the end.”

“Yeah,” Louis agrees. “But we want you to do what feels right to you.”

He looks unsure, but asks, “This is all really like… a _thing_? Not wanting sex or a relationship, but wanting a family?”

Both Louis and Nick nod enthusiastically. “You should do what makes you happy. If those things don’t, then fuck them, honestly,” Louis says simply.

Niall nods, slowly, but looks a little less on edge than he had earlier. “We’re going to love you no matter what,” Louis adds. “So will everyone who knows you. _Especially_ your kid, if you decide to have one. Or kids. Who knows. You might want a whole litter.”

With a laugh, Niall shakes his head. “One sounds like enough for me. Being here for two weeks has taught me that,” he says. “But five suits you lot.”

Realization dawns on Nick’s face and he says, “Niall… thank you for everything.” Niall raises an eyebrow, and Nick continues. “You’ve basically put your life on hold for us, to help with the triplets. We could not have done this without you.”

Niall looks sheepish and shrugs off the thanks. “You guys are my friends. You deserve the help,” he says. “And I love all these kids, you know that.”

“Five kids,” Nick says, still surprised that he’s got so many. He’d expected three or four, at the most. But now that they’re all in his life, he can’t imagine a life without all of them.

Louis laughs and looks at Nick in the darkness. “Who would have thought I’d have five kids with _you_ ,” he teases.

Niall laughs so hard he wakes Poppy and has to put her to sleep all over again.

\----

“Hey Nick?”

They’re sitting around the lounge of their house again, Niall gone now that the triplets are on a good sleep schedule and Ollie and Evie are back in school. He’s back in his own flat and working very hard to convince an adoption agency that he’s fit to be a single parent.

Louis is sipping tea, as he always does when the triplets are down for their mid-morning nap, and Nick is scrolling through Twitter on his laptop. When Louis speaks, Nick looks up and asks, “Yeah, love?”

Louis pulls his knees to his chest where he’s sat on the sofa and he says, “Briana called me last night.”

Nick, unsure what to make of this, closes his laptop and sets it aside so he can fix his full attention on Louis. Something in Louis’s voice makes him worry that something is wrong. “What did she have to say?” he wonders.

Louis swallows and says, “She… I felt sort of bad afterwards, actually. She told me she’d met someone a while back, and that she’s married the guy, and… she said she felt ready for kids.”

“Well… good for her,” Nick says slowly, blankly, because he doesn’t know where this is going. “Why did you feel bad?”

Louis sighs. “It sort of felt like she was asking me if it was okay. Because of Evie.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

They’re quiet, Nick unsure of how to respond to this. He gets it, he really does, because Briana had been so bent up about Evie and she’d never wanted her to feel like she wasn’t loved. She hadn’t felt like she was meant to be a mum, but now she did, and it complicated things. Louis looks conflicted, so Nick asks, “What did you tell her?”

Louis’s eyes are still bright, sparkling blue as he looks up and says, “I told her it wasn’t up to me. That it was her decision. She still felt bad, though. I could tell.”

“That makes sense,” Nick shrugs. “I mean, after everything with Evie…”

Louis nods, but it’s something else that’s on his mind, something other than Briana just wanting to have kids. He knows Louis is happy with their life now, happy with the way things have turned out.

“What’s on your mind, Lou?” he asks softly.

He shrugs and scoots across the sofa to lean his head on Nick’s shoulder. “It’s kind of weird to think about… Evie having siblings that aren’t our babies,” he admits. “I get it, being from a family with the same sort of thing, but like… it’s so _odd_ knowing that she’s going to have siblings out there who I’ve got nothing to do with. Who I’ll probably never even know.”

Nick nods because it does sound weird; he doesn’t really know what to make of it. “Well you know,” he offers, “She probably won’t really know them, either. Unless Briana’s decided she wants contact with Evie again?”

“That’s true,” Louis sighs. He still sounds discontent, but nods, “I’d forgotten that. But god, that’s even weirder, you know? If they get back in touch one day, and suddenly Evie’s got more brothers and sisters, too?”

Nick smiles and gives Louis a kiss on the forehead. “More people to adore her, then,” he says simply.

Louis nods, and even though he’s got his face tucked away like he sometimes does when he gets so caught up in his head, Nick knows that he’s smiling, too.

\----

When Niall shows up on Nick and Louis’s doorstep on a dreary evening just after the triplets have turned six months old, they’re not surprised, to say the least. He’s always visiting. Just not with tears in his eyes and an unreadable expression on his face.

“Niall?” Nick asks hesitantly.

Louis ushers Niall inside where the kids are all lying about, the triplets in their bouncy chairs and Ollie and Evie on the sofa having some biscuits before bed, and they’re so wrapped up in their film they don’t even notice the disturbance.

Nick’s glad for it, because Niall looks fragile, to put it mildly.

As soon as they’re inside, Niall’s wrapping his arms around Louis’s shoulders and burying his face in his shoulder and they still don’t know what’s going on.

“Shall I put on some tea?” Nick offers.

But then Niall’s shaking his head and looking up with a huge smile on his face as he says, “No, we need like, wine or champagne or beers or something. To celebrate.”

“To celebrate?” asks Nick hesitantly.

Louis is watching Niall closely as he asks, “Niall, what’s going on?”

And suddenly, Niall’s grinning wider than they’ve ever seen him, his eyes dancing with happiness as he says, “An adoption’s been approved! Five weeks until I’m a dad!”

He thrusts his arms up, cheers, and does a little leap right there in their kitchen. Nick and Louis’s eyes go wide and they reach out for Niall again, wrapping him up in a big hug. “Had to pull a few strings and the baby will be here _really_ soon but I don’t even care,” he says. “So many people got hung up on the single dad thing, it’s such bullshit, but like… it doesn’t matter because it went through!”

“Congratulations, Nialler!” Louis cheers, clapping him on the back.

Nick’s already rummaging around in the fridge for something to drink, and comes back with three beers -- all different kinds, embarrassingly -- and opens them up. “I knew it would work out,” he beams at Niall, offering him a drink.

Louis whoops as he takes a bottle from Nick, and they all reach out and clink the bottles together before taking drinks. As they do, little footsteps come rushing and it’s Evie and Ollie, standing at their feet. “Why are we excited?” she asks, bouncing up and down.

Nick opens his mouth to speak, but Louis reaches over and literally slaps a hand over his mouth so Niall can tell. He kneels down to look at Evie and Ollie, and he’s beaming with happiness as he says, “I’m gonna adopt a baby!”

Evie clearly doesn’t share the same enthusiasm. She quirks her eyebrows and asks, “What does adopt mean? Can I feel the baby in your tummy like I did with Auntie Sophia?”

Niall chuckles fondly and says, “No, I won’t have a baby in me. Adopt means I get to give a baby a home.”

“Babies already have homes,” she argues.

“Not all, love,” Louis says sadly. “That’s where people like Uncle Niall come in. They adopt babies because either their parents can’t take care of them, or their parents are gone.”

“Oh,” Evie says blankly. “So where’s the baby? Do you adopt from a shop?”

Niall smiles and pulls her toward him. “The baby is in his mum’s tummy. His mum can’t take care of him so she’s letting me do it for her. And it’ll be great, don’t you think? Having a new baby cousin?” he asks.

Evie smiles and nods. “I like babies. They smell good when they don’t have poo in their nappies,” she tells him.

That makes them all laugh, and she asks, “Daddy and Papa, when do we get to go shopping for the baby?”

Louis and Nick laugh, but Niall pales. 

“Shit,” he mutters. “I’ve got to shop for the baby.”

Evie giggles and jumps up and down as Louis holds out her overflowing swear jar. Ollie’s got one as well, and Niall grumbles as he puts a quid in each jar. “Niall, you’re going to end up funding their whole uni education,” Nick teases.

Niall’s looking nervous now, realizing he’s only got five weeks to completely prepare for the baby. “Relax, breathe,” Louis laughs. He pats Niall’s shoulder and says, “Bunk here tonight, celebrate with us, and then we’ll all go out to the shops tomorrow. All eight of us.”

He’s nervous, clearly, but with Nick and Louis and their kids along for the ride when he’s shopping, he’s sure it’ll all be alright. If he can help them manage the triplets, he can manage one on his own.

More often than not, Niall ends up hanging around at Nick and Louis’s place, helping them with the kids even if they don’t really need the help anymore, because they understand. Niall’s worried -- his fingernails, chewed and red and sore, are perfect evidence of just how anxious he is about taking on the responsibility of a kid on his own -- but a bigger part of him is excited. He’s holding at least one kid at all times, and he looks so happy when he’s doing it. He’s got names picked out, he’s got a whole nursery set up in (in record time, they’d contend), and his whole flat is baby-proofed.

Just a week before Niall’s baby is due, they’re all sitting in an auditorium, Louis bouncing his knee nervously, Niall looking the relaxed one this time. Ollie is sat calmly between Louis and Niall, and Nick’s on Louis’s other side. Each of them is holding one of the triplets and they’re watching the stage, waiting for the show to start.

“I can’t believe it,” Niall grins. “Another Tomlinson up on the stage!”

Louis nods, but he doesn’t sound so excited when he says, “She was so nervous earlier.”

“Because we ripped her tights trying to put them on her,” Nick chimes in. “She’s so excited to be up there.”

Louis just reaches over for Nick’s hand as the lights dim, and the dance recital begins. 

They’d started her in dance lessons at her own request at the beginning of her previous year of school, and she’d been really excited. Ballet was her favourite, and she was constantly dancing around now that she’d started lessons. She owns a tutu in every colour and likes to wear them with skinny jeans and fancy blouses. It had been a battle to get her to understand that ballet shoes are for dancing, not Vans, even if Daddy dances around in Vans with her.

Now she calls herself a serious ballerina, always wanting ballet shoes and leotards and tutus. She’s obsessed, and often asks for ballerina buns in her hair for school, too. Nick and Louis indulge her, because they haven’t seen her latch onto something with such ferocity since _Frozen_ , and they’d rather not return to that phase of her life.

And now Evie’s up on stage in white from head to toe. She’s got jewels on her leotard and her tutu and her tights and ballet shoes could probably be cleaner but they’re well loved pieces -- tights usually reserved for rehearsal, but her performance ones are ruined thanks to having to wrestle her into them, so they’ll have to do. The teacher didn’t seem all that bothered, at least.

Her wispy hair is already falling out of the bun in her hair, but Lou had taught them how to put it there and they’d just used less hair spray than was necessary, apparently, if the air quality in the rehearsal space was anything to go by. 

She’s standing up there under the bright stage lights, front and center because she’s the most confident dancer in the class, and the line of little seven and eight year old girls are all moving together to a fun, pretty orchestral song. Evie knows all the moves by heart, has rehearsed in her bedroom at least a dozen times, and Louis squeezes Nick’s hand as he watches.

Nick’s just as proud, and everyone in their little line of chairs watches Evie dance around on stage. She’s grinning, something the other girls aren’t doing, and she’s got each move perfectly on beat with the music. She’s a natural.

Afterwards, they give her a bouquet of roses and take photos of her with her friends from dance class and her dance teacher, and she’s bouncing around, eagerly regaling them with the story of the dance, move by move. 

Ollie’s the only one listening, but she doesn’t need to know that.

Louis and Nick are holding the boys and Niall’s off changing Poppy’s nappy as they stand off to the side, talking to her teacher. “She’s got talent,” the teacher, Emma, is telling them. “I wanted to talk to you two about that, actually.”

“Is there something wrong?” Nick asks, ready to defend Evie in case they say anything in poor taste.

Thankfully, Emma says the opposite. “We think she’s very well suited for this, and she’s got the ambition,” she explains. “If this is something you would like her to pursue, I’d recommend advanced lessons, and we could give her special permissions into upper courses here.”

“What do you mean? Like, make a career of this?” Louis asks.

He’s hesitant, knowing how confusing being a professional at a younger age can be. Nick brushes his hand against Louis’s, a silent bid of support, as they listen. “We rarely come across cases like Evie, but yes, it could set her up for a professional career in ballet,” Emma explains. “She’s got to be eleven before she can attend a ballet academy, but if she attends a special course at London Junior & Senior -- it’s audition based, and they hold sunday rehearsals -- she could be well equipped to audition someplace like The Royal Ballet when she’s eleven. If this is the course you want her to take.”

“Well, we know _she’d_ like it,” Nick says, watching Evie excitedly greet Niall when he returns with Poppy. She’s itching to show him the dance all over again.

Emma nods. “I’d highly recommend it. She’s _incredibly_ talented,” she says.

“So that’s an extra lesson a week, until she’s eleven, and then she can decide if she’d like to go on to a ballet school?” Louis clarifies. Emma nods again. “And that’s like… a boarding school?”

“Once she’s eleven, yeah,” Emma explains. “But boarding is optional until age fifteen or so, depending on the school.” She smiles warmly and says, “That’s a long way off. I’d suggest just auditioning her for Junior & Senior and see where it goes. She might decide that the intense classes make her hate ballet, and she won’t want to go on to a ballet school. You never know.”

Nick smiles at her and says, “Thank you so much. We’ll talk to her about it when she’s on less of a performance high.” Emma laughs, as does Nick. “We appreciate your advice, though.”

“Yeah, thanks so much,” Louis smiles. He’s caught up in his thoughts, but doesn’t want to be rude.

Emma waves them off as another family approaches to speak to her, and Nick turns to Louis. “Looks like we’ve got another performer in the family, then,” he says with a grin.

“Oh god, I am _so_ not ready for this,” Louis laughs. “She’s growing up and she could be in boarding school in like… two years. That’s way too soon.”

Nick rubs Louis’s back as they walk over to round up Evie and everyone else to go out to dinner. “We’ve got time. Besides, we’ve got to see what she wants to do, first.”

“You say that like there’s a chance she’ll say no,” Louis grumbles. “She clearly loves it.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Nick smiles.

He leans over and gives Louis a kiss before enthusiastically greeting Evie again, the two of them wrapping her up in a big, warm hug.


End file.
